Bossa Nova Bossa Nova In The Begining Bossa Nova has become a part of the American jazz tradition. Bossa Nova songs are a very common part of any high school jazz ensemble. But Bossa Nova music is quite far from an American tradition. Its origins are traced back to brazil in the 1850’s, and it was not really introduced to musicians in the U.S until 1962. 9 At this time in the united states, when samba musicians in Brazil combined their music style with a style of “Cool Jazz” that was coming out of California at the time.1 Literally translated the words bossa nova mean New Beat, and that is exactly what it was, a new musical beat and a new style of music that immediately gained immense popularity with Brazil’s upper and middle classes. Bossa Nova musicians started by playing in wealthy neighborhoods of Brazil, the songs were mostly about beautiful girls and falling in love as opposed to its cousin that Samba, whose songs at the time were mostly about political struggle. But in the coming century the texture of Bossa Nova would change with the social climate of Brazil.

9 A vehicle for social change In the 60’s Bossa Nova was considered a harmless music, that is, the musicians of Bossa Nova did not write songs of political protest. But somehow, the musical style spawned the birth of the prostest music in Brazil that is considered responsible for the political turmoil that eventually led to a military coup in Brazil in 1964. 9 During all the political turmoil, Bossa Nova Musicians began to write songs with a much stronger political message, and some were almost considered social guides and leaders, in a similar manner to Bob Dylan was in the United States at this time. After the Coup of 1964 Bossa Nova continued to change. The Topic Of many songs shifted towards protest at the new Military government. Bossa Nova was no longer a music of the upper class, it was a music of the people of Brazil. 9 Although it was originally a music for the Upper Class bossa nova has always had many parallels to the country of its origin. It was created in a time of growth and relative prosperity for Brazil and then the “second style”, created after 1964 was during a time of struggle, and the lyrics of the songs support this.

Bossa Nova Today Today Bossa Nova is beginning to celebrate a return to popularity. The adults of today had parents who loved Bossa Nova, and true to all human nature, as kids they rebelled against things that their parents stood for, but those kids are now becoming adults and beginning to re-embrace Bossa Nova as part of their country’s tradition, as well as, appreciate it and enjoy is purely for its musical brilliance. Famous Bossa Nova Composers include, Antonio Carlos Jobim, one of the founding fathers of Bossa Nova, and Sylvia Telles, who is considered by many to be the most talend Brazilian singer in the 1950’s and1960’s. 1 In the united states Bossa Nova has received to recent, rather secret infamy in the form of “Soul Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones, which has been featured in the opening credits of all three Austin Powers Movies. Stan Getz is also a famous Bossa Nova Musician from the United States.

Bossa Nova: a brief history ABC Online History Bossa Nova began on the tropical beaches of Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s, when a small group of mainly middle-class students, artists and musicians came together to create a new sound. Bossa Nova was a soft samba based on traditional Brazilian music and rhythms, American jazz, and a new style of Portuguese lyrics. It was a youthful celebration of romance, beach culture and sensual pleasure. Bossa Nova's twin figureheads are Antï¿½nio Carlos Jobim (Tom Jobim), a gifted composer, also blessed with classical good looks, and Joï¿½o Gilberto, a guitarist and singer who came to Rio from the poorer Bahia region. Surrounding these central figures is a wider Bossa Nova family. It includes 'Girl from Ipanema' lyricist Vinï¿½cius de Moraes, jazz pianist Sï¿½rgio Mendes, composer/guitarist Roberto Menescal, and the Bossa Nova's muse, Nara Leï¿½o, who often hosted musical gatherings in her flat.

While there was a concurrent scene in Sï¿½o Paulo, picturesque Rio de Janeiro is Bossa Nova's natural home. Quieter beach-inspired sounds were combined with jazz in Rio's thriving nightclubs; 'Bottles Bar' was the most famous of these small, sweaty venues. According to legend, Bossa Nova was 'discovered' in one of these clubs by an American A&R man on holiday, when he saw Tom Jobim and Joï¿½o Gilberto playing. Other stories relate that it was US jazz-men jamming with locals who made the original connections. Whatever happened in Rio, Americans latched onto Brazil's 'New Beat'. In 1962, there was a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall and the Bossa Nova craze had arrived. In 1964, American Stan Getz recorded 'The Girl from Ipanema' with Joï¿½o Gilberto and his wife Astrud on vocals, along with Tom Jobim, the song's co-composer, on piano. The album Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the US charts and 'The Girl from Ipanema' would become the world's second most played song behind the Beatles' 'Yesterday'.

Introduction to Bossa Nova Dancing Bossa Nova Introduction Bossa Nova is a Brazilian dance that followed the creation of Bossa Nova music in the late 1950s. It is roughly translated as meaning 'new wave', 'new way' or 'new beat'. A very popular and well-known Bossa Nova tune is the Girl from Ipanema or in Portuguese: Garota de Ipanema. As popular as the music may be, the dance is not widely taught in dance schools. As a result, dancers are puzzled by what dance styles they should use when they hear Bossa Nova music, and sometimes use Rumba, Samba, Merengue and even Night Club Two Step patterns. This can work except that the distinct Latin Jazz feel of the music calls for its own style. The advantage of knowing basic Bossa Nova steps is that once dancers know how to dance the basic steps to the mood of the music, they can then incorporate moves from other dances that fit Bossa Nova's mood and rhythm. Alternatively, dancers can use the concepts behind the very useful Bossa Nova basic steps in other dances. There is a Bossa Nova line dance as there is a Samba line dance. Samba and Bossa Nova are both Brazilian dances.

Bossa Nova Moves and Steps In one version of Bossa Nova dancing, the feel and count is similar to social Rumba - with the Cuban hip action replaced with a smooth hip sway or roll and with the addition of frequent taps with the foot extended. The chasse basic is three steps to the leader's left (step-together-step), a tap step, three steps to the right (step-together-step) and a tap step. The follower mirrors the step starting to the right. The walking basic is similar and is danced as three steps forward (for the leader starting with, say, the left foot), tap, three steps back and tap. The follower mirrors the step starting with back steps. The forward/back basic is (for the leader) step forward (either foot, say left), together and tap with the other foot and back to the original position, step together, step back, tap and forward. When this forward/back basic is repeated, it becomes the walking basic described above.

A variation of the forward/back basic is (for the leader) left foot step forward, right foot together tap, right foot step back, left foot together tap, left foot step back, right foot together tap, right foot step forward, left foot together tap - and repeat. Note: At this time there are no videos available that demonstrate the Bossa Nova dance to our satisfaction. Music With lyrics by Vinï¿½cius de Moraes, composition by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and singing by Joï¿½o Gilberto, Chega de Saudade (translated as No More Blues), released in 1958, is credited as being the first Bossa Nova recording. The three are seen together on the left. Initially, Chega de Saudade was recorded on Elizete Cardoso's album Canï¿½ï¿½o do Amor Demais. However, it was the later release by Joï¿½o Gilberto on an album by the same name, that brought Bossa Nova to public attention. The 1959 motion picture Orfeu Negro or Black Orpheus cemented Bossa Nova's popularity in Brazil.

The movie was based on a play by Vinï¿½cius de Moraes and the music was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics for one the songs, Manhï¿½ de Carnaval was written by Luiz Bonfï¿½. The record label Verve, US jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd added to Bossa Nova's popularity in North America with their 1963 release of Jazz Samba. The music was recorded at All Souls' Unitarian Church in Washington, DC on February 13, 1962. The album contained two Jobim compositions: Desafinado and Samba De Uma Nota So (One Note Samba) However, it was the 1964 release of the album Getz/Gilberto by Verve that made Bossa Nova a household name in North America while becoming one of the best selling jazz albums ever. Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. Stan Getz played the sax and Joï¿½o Gilberto played the guitar. Jobim is featured on the piano. Jobim also wrote most of the music.

The first song on the album The Girl from Ipanema, was sung by Joï¿½o and his wife Astrud Gilberto (seen on the right), making her professional debut. The song won a Grammy, and is today one of the most recognizable Bossa Nova songs anywhere. The Girl From Ipanema The story of the transformation of Vinï¿½cius de Moraes' composition Menina que Passa (The Girl Who Passes By) into the song we recognize today as The Girl from Ipanema or Garota de Ipanema is now part of Bossa Nova folklore. The story goes that Moraes composed the words to the song in Petrï¿½polis, a township near Rio, while Jobim composed the melody at his home in Rua Barï¿½o da Torre, in the southern Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Ipanema. The beach of Ipanema (seen here on the right) is adjacent to Copacabana Beach. However, Ipanema has the reputation of being a more exclusive neighbourhood. Indeed, it is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in Rio. Moraes and Jobim patronized the Veloso Cafe in Ipanema.

Sitting at the cafe, they frequently saw a slender, stunning, fifteen-year-old girl pass by - much to the delight of the cafe's patrons who expressed their admiration of her beauty with sighs and whistles. Her name was Heloï¿½sa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (today Helï¿½ Pinheiro). She lived on Ipanema's Montenegro Street. Today, Montenegro Street is called Vinicius de Moraes Street, and the Veloso Bar has been named A Garota de Ipanema. Heloï¿½sa became the girl from Ipanema in Moraes and Jobin's composition which took its final form in the winter on 1962. The English lyrics were later written by Norman Gimbel, the opening lines of which are: "Tall and tan and young and lovely, The girl from Ipanema goes walking, And when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah!

When she walks she's like a samba that, Swings so cool and sways so gentle, That when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah!" Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World A Capella Press ISBN: 1556524943 To virtually all Americans, the words "bossa nova" are synonymous with Brazilian jazz. More specifically, they immediately trigger memories of bossa nova's greatest American hit, "The Girl From Ipanema." When Creed Taylor introduced Astrud Gilberto's version of the song to American audiences in 1964, he had no idea what kind of lasting impact it would have. He had no idea that Getz/Gilberto would come to define Brazilian music for American audiences. Forever. The idea that bossa nova represents Brazilian popular music is all wrong. And all right.

It represents the pinnacle of the country's influence on the world's music, the inauguration of an era when tunes like "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Desafinado" would become jazz standards. Hell, even Frank Sinatra did a whole record with Antonio Carlos Jobim! (So what if Jobim had to forsake his piano for a guitar. You play with the Chairman, you play by his rules.) Unfortunately, the rest of the world stood by deaf as Brazilian music moved on in the '60s and beyond. Only nostalgic old farts play bossa nova in Brazil today. Or so they say. Brazilian muse Ruy Castro takes on this distinctive musical tree in Bossa Nova, going from its deepest roots to its most distant branches. That may sound like a cursory exaggeration, but it's completely true. Castro is a total freak, compulsive about details and obsessive about drawing every line in the big picture: I think it important to note that I listened to all the recordings mentioned in the text... Yeah, yeah. But in the process of his exposition, you find yourself increasingly drawn into the deeply personal nature of the music.

He might make a point of correcting errors on record sleeves, but he's also got a brilliant sense of humor. This review has the goal of orienting readers to the general flow of the story, revealing unexpected events and offering Castro's take whenever possible. American listeners who followed bossa nova most likely followed João Gilberto, the clear-cut cult hero of this book. And despite the rich cast of characters woven together in this fabric, one man stands out. So the review will not stray far from the center. But back to the story. I. Roots Castro appreciates the tastes of young people in Brazil in the late '40s, when the children of bossa nova were growing up. Frank Sinatra is indeed the subject of several jibes along the course of this story. Some of the founders of bossa nova, oddly enough, were members of Rio's "Sinatra-Farney Fan Club," born in 1949. Membership required a fanatical zeal for Frank Sinatra and Dick Farney, monetary dues, and the ability (at least in a relative sense) to play an instrument or sing. To these young people, Sinatra's only flaw was that he was not Brazilian.

Parenthetically, Castro remarks: Those who are less than a hundred years old might not believe it, but Frank Sinatra was a sex symbol in those days. He was also so thin that when he walked around on stage with the microphone in his handhe was one of the first singers to do thishe had to be careful not to disappear behind the cord. As time went on, some of these amateurs developed the ability to sing in tune, even improvise jazz over changes. João Donato, a card-carrying member of the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club, strayed when he also joined the Dick Haymes-Lucio Alves Fan Club. It was no small thing. The rivalry between America's undisputed king of song (Sinatra) and Brazil's first cult singer (Alves) was so strong that when Alves paid a visit to the rival club, he left with an army of young people behind his back sticking out their tongues and pinning their thumbs on their noses. Donato, however, had the right idea. When he later met the guitarist João Gilberto, both of them immediately stood shellshocked: they looked like twins. II.

Deviants Donato went on to become one of the heroes of the movement. Gilberto, of course, became its leader (whether willing, eager, or able is a different matter). The collision is meaningful, though, because it represents a clash of musical cultures that would later resolve, rather forcefully, in one direction. Castro speaks later about Roberto Menescal and Carlinhos Lyra, two influential musicians who sold their product to a niche market: The two of them were also the benficiaries of a virus that took hold of many parents at that time: that of forcing their children to study the accordion with the nationally famous professor Mario Mascarenhas. In order to escape this terrible fate, youngsters bargained with their good grades in school, or with their regular church attendance, and extracted permission from their parents to learn the guitar. Great Brazilian Music - Bossa Nova Bossa Nova The Birth of Bossa Nova With his soft, quiet and almost whispering vocal style and his revolutionary way of playing the guitar, João Gilberto appeared in the late 1950's, to charm and conquer first Brazil and soon after the entire world.

From the city of Juazeiro in Bahia, João Gilberto was the natural front man and the quintessential central figure for a brand new style of Brazilian music: bossa nova. In the beginning, the term “bossa nova”, simply referred to a new way of playing and singing samba, incorporating some elements from jazz music and with a pronounced softness, both in terms of musical and poetic presentation. The North American influences, in the form of dissonant chords, typical of jazz, was criticized very heavily by some influential Brazilian critics and cultural figures at the time. It may be hard to imagine today, but João Gilberto's low-key and whispering vocal style, full of small details and nuances, was perceived as highly provocative, as it broke completely with the previously existing singing tradition, with its loud voices and flamboyant presentations. Of course many other contemporary critics praised the innovative bossa nova music and hailed it as the single most important event in Brazilian music history. Apart from the music itself, the lyrics of the early bossa nova compositions, with their highly poetical content, also stood apart from the typical Brazilian popular music of the 50’s.

With his trade mark vocal style and his innovative guitar playing, João Gilberto is rightlfully and widely regarded as the most vital link in the birth of bossa nova, but he was certainly not alone in the process. In fact, bossa nova, as a musical genre, came about gradually during the late 1950's. The fundamental ideas and concept of what would become the bossa nova movement, was hatched by a group of young musicians and cultural enthusiasts from Rio de Janeiro’s middle class. They would regularly meet up to talk about, listen to and play music. One of the most enthusiastic participants in these meetings was the then only 15-year-old girl Nara Leão. Her (or rather her parents') apartment on the fashionable Avenida Atlântica in Copacabana district also became an unofficial “headquarter” for the early bossa nova movement, in 1957.

Besides Nara Leão the nucleus of the group first consisted of the young musicians Billy Blanco, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal and Sérgio Rica, but soon grew to include, among others, Ronaldo Bôscoli, Chico Feitosa, Luiz Carlos Vinhas - and of course also João Gilberto himself. In early 1958 João Gilberto was invited to take part in the recording of singer Elizeth Cardoso's new album Canção do Amor Demais. All the songs on the album were written by the newly formed and highly acclaimed song writing duo of Antônico Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Morães. João Gilberto's contribution to the disc was as a guitar player on the tracks Chega de Saudade and Outra Vez. In his guitar play, João Gilberto strived to imitate the percussion section of a samba band, though of course all in his own, very elegant and unobtrusive way.

Gilberto's guitar playing style (which soon became the hallmark of bossa nova), was therefore dubbed “batida de violão”, which could be translated as “drum rhythm on guitar.” The Canção do Amor Demais album also became the public breakthrough for composer Antônico Carlos (also called Tom) Jobim and poet Vinicius de Morães, who both went on tio become two of the strongest protagonists of the new bossa nova movement. A couple of months later in 1958, João Gilberto chose Tom Jobim’s and Vinicius de Morães beautiful Chega de Saudade, as his first solo recording – the first bossa nova song ever recorded. The bossa nova music and movement emerged at a time of profound change and modernization of the Brazilian society, under the popular president Juscelino Kubitschek, or JK, as he is called in Brazil. Kubitschek promised 50 years of progress in five years and one of his first major projects was to begin the construction of a new, ultra-modern capital in the heart of the country: Brasília.

The city was designed and planned by architects Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa and was inaugurated in 1961. The Kubitschek presidency also saw huge investments in the country’s industries and also in infrastructure and highways. Culturally, Brazil during the late 50’s and early 60’s also saw the rise of several talented authors, like the now world famous Jorge Amado, and Brazilian film makers in the so called Cinema Novo movement presenting themselves. As perhaps the icing on the cake, Brazil won the soccer world cup two times in a row, 1958 and 1962, driving the national mood up to almost euphoric heights. There was a profound sense of optimism among people in Brazil during these years – and Brazilians started to have faith and confidence in their own future. The bossa nova was the perfect soundtrack for these times. A few months after the release of the single Chega de Saudade, João Gilberto released his first LP, also named Chega de Saudade. The album was produced by Aloysio de Oliveira and had musical arrangements by Tom Jobim.

In addition to songs by Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Morães, Gilberto also interpreted several older songs, by composers such as Ary Barroso and Dorival Caymmi. There was also the song Lobo Bobo, by the young song writing duo of Carlos Lyra and Ronaldo Bôscoli, straight from the original core group of the bossa nova movement. The whole album was performed in typical bossa nova style, with Gilberto’s “batida de violão” and soft, leisurely voice in the foreground. The album was a huge success in every sense - and bossa nova had come to stay. In 1961 João Gilberto moved to the United States, where bossa nova had become particularly popular among jazz musicians and fans of jazz music. Interesting to note in this context, is that João Gilberto himself never was much of a jazz fan. Gilberto stayed in the US for 19 years, before moving back to Rio de Janeiro.

While in the US, his wife Astrud, launched a succesful international career as an artist of her own, taking advantage of the fact that she, contrary to her husband in the early 60’s, was both able and willing to sing songs in English. Her recording of the song The Girl from Ipanema (originally A Garota de Ipanema), has become one of the most famous Brazilian songs of all time. Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim João Gilberto gave origin to the bossa nova guitar rhythm and its low-key approach to singing and thus played a fundamental role in the creation of the genre. But when talking about the origins of bossa nova, it would be wrong to ignore the people who actually wrote the first famous bossa nova-tunes, namely Vinicius de Morães and Tom Jobim. The poet Vinicius de Morães (1913 - 1980), was quintessential for the down-to-earh and romantic poetry, which became characteristic of bossa nova lyrics.

De Morães, who drew much inspiration from the Portuguese 16th century poet Luís Vaz de Camões, earned a reputation as one of greatest Brazilian poets of all time. The tributes to Vinícius de Morães have been many through the years. For example, the street in the Ipanema district of Rio de Janeiro, where Vinicius de Morães and Tom Jobim sat in a bar watching the young woman who inspired them to write the song Garota de Ipanema, is now named after Vinicius de Morães. . Despite his high-profile and solemn profession as a diplomat, Vinícius de Morães was always an archetypical Rio bohemian. His unfettered passion for life and love (he married no less than nine times) shone through in his poetry and left its mark on the bossa nova legacy. His laid-back personal style was obvious not the least duting his live performances, where he usually appeared comfortably reclined in an armchair with a glass of whiskey at his side.

Vicius de Morães stared working together with the then young composer Antônio Carlos Jobim (or Tom Jobim), in 1956, as Jobim was asked to compose the music for Morães theater peace Orfeu da Conceição. During the subsequent years, Morães and Jobim formed what would be one of the most famous song writing duos of Brazilian music. Tom Jobim (1927 - 1994), accounted for the sophisticated and timeless melodies in many of the bossa nova movement's first, best and most famous work. After his success with the early bossa nova recordings in Brazil, Jobim propelled on to a highly acclaimed international career, while living in the United States. When Tom Jobim died, 67 years old, in December 1994 after having suffered a stroke, Rio de Janeiro's international airport was renamed in his honor. Other bossa-novistas After João Gilberto's success in the late 1950’s, a long row of artists soon followed in his footsteps and became knows as bossa-novistas.

One of the most influential of these musicians was the composer, guitarist and singer Carlos Lyra, who subsequentally became Vinícius de Morães new song writing partner, after Tom Jobim had left for North America. Nara Leão, grew up and became one of the bossa nova genre's most celebrated personalities. She was even dubbed “a Musa da Bossa Nova” (which loosely translated means "the Queen of Bossa Nova"). The young, blond, surfer brothers Marcos and Sérgio Valle, from Rio de Janeiro’s wealthy upper middle class, also emerged as two of the brightest shinging starts in the bossa nova sky. In 1964 Marcos Valle recorded the elegant and catchy bossa nova gem Samba de Verão, which became a big hit not only in Brazil but also in the US, where it has been rerecorded by a wide range of American musicians.

Other leading artists during the golden age of bossa nova, which turned out to be the first half of the 1960’s, include Os Cariocas, Johnny Alf, Doris Monteiro, Tamba Trio, João Donato, Bola Sete, Laurindo de Almeida, Luís Bonfá, Milton Banana Trio, Dick Farney and Sylvinha. Bossa nova today During the second half of the 1960’s, the bossa nova music became overshadowed by other music styles in Brazil, mainly the emerging pop and rock scene of the Jovem Guarda and the creative revolution of the tropicalists. However, bossa nova as a genre did not in anyway disappear or die. On the contrary, it is still live and well, both through the recordings of its original representatives (several of whom are still active in their careers) and a never ending stream of new, young Brazilian artists who compose, perform and record bossa nova music. A particularly interesting trend during the last two decades has been the fusion of bossa nova and electronic music, perfected by artists like Fernanda Porto. Examples of bossa nova Video: Where does the Bossa Nova Come From?

| eHow Where does the Bossa Nova Come From? Learn a brief history of the Bossa Nova and other great tips on Latin music in this free music lesson and drum theory video clip. Part of the Video Series: How to be a Latin Drummer Comments Video Transcript The Bossa Nova is a style of samba, it's a more of a relaxed feeling like a little bit softer, a little bit smoother. It originated in Brazil in about 1958, there was about a 6 year period in 1958 to 1963 in which this style really developed. One of the big players that was Gilberto, you have to check him out because the first hit Bossa Nova single was written with him. So check out that record you have to hear this of course the most important you have to hear his music before you can play it. There is a movie called Black Orpheus which came out in 1959 which kind of popularized the Bossa Nova the music was introduced to a lot of people for that movie. The Bossa Nova like I said it's just an auditation of a samba and I'll play a basic samba groove for you.

(playing drums) That's a basic samba. (playing drums) It's just a little bit smoother it feels a little bit different so check it out research yourself there is a whole lot of information out there. I can't begin to tell you this minute in a half I have here so keep checking it out. Featured An Introduction to Bossa Nova Music An Introduction To Bossa Nova Music An Introduction To Bossa Nova Music Ipanema Beach at sunset in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. WIN-Initiative/ WIN-Initiative/ Getty Images By Michael Verity Updated July 31, 2015. Bossa nova, which is loosely translated from Portuguese as “new trend,” is a popular form of Brazilian music created by marrying Latin samba rhythms with melodic and harmonic elements of West Coast cool jazz. Though the music became popular in the early 1950s, the word "bossa” was used as early as the 1930s to mean anything that was riding on the first wave of popular culture. By the 1950s, musicians had co-opted the word to describe anyone who played with a high degree of individuality.

Joao Gilberto is often referred to as the creator of bossa nova. He developed the style by playing variants of samba rhythms on the guitar combined more complex harmonies than were normally heard in Brazilian popular music. But more recent sources also point to late night jam sessions that happened in and around Rio de Janeiro during the early 50s as the birthplace of the genre. Ensembles like the Grupo Universitario de Brasil (University Group of Brazil) regularly performed a fledgling form of bossa nova before American and Brazilian musicians began collaborating to bring the idiom to a larger audience. continue reading below our video Celebrity Breakups of 2015 We Didn't See Coming Ohio born wind player Bud Shank’s collaborations with Laurindo Almeida in 1951 are frequently suggested as the international coming out party for bossa nova. Shank and Almeida had played together with Stan Kenton before the latter enticed Shank, bassist Harry Babasin and drummer Roy Harte to record with him on two albums, now known as Brazilliance Nos. 1 and 2.

Antonio Carlos Jobim’s 1958 recording “Chega de Saudade” (“No More Blues”) is also recognized as a landmark in the development of bossa nova as an international style. It was an instant hit and kicked off the careers of both Gilberto and Jobim. Joao’s solo debut album in 1959 was also a watershed event as was a Carnegie Hall concert staged in 1961. By the early 1960s, bossa nova was a worldwide craze, one that made international stars of Jobim, Gilberto and their frequent collaborator, Stan Getz. Getz worked with Gilberto and Jobim on the album . The “Gilberto” in the album’s title refers to singer Astrud Gilberto, João’s wife at the time. Astrud was not a professional singer before she recorded with Getz, but her clear and tranquil voice became an immediate sensation upon the album’s release.

Many bossa nova songs have worked their way into the jazz repertoire, especially Jobim’s “The Girl From Ipanema,” “Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars),” and “How Insensitive.” Often, musicians will apply the bossa style to songs that were not originally bossa nova. Important bossa nova artists beyond those mentioned include Oscar Castro-Neves, Carlos Lyra, Baden Powell de Aquino, Bola Ste and Caetano Veloso. Singer Eliane Elias, who talked with About.com in 2013 about her Chet Baker Tribute, I Thought About You , has recently released a bossa nova record entitled Made In Brazil . Diana Krall also rekindled the spark of bossa nova with her album Quiet Nights . Article updated by Michael Verity Why bossa nova is 'the highest flowering of Brazilian culture' | Music | The Guardian Music Why bossa nova is 'the highest flowering of Brazilian culture' Bossa nova is not just elevator music or the rhythm button on a home organ.

It's poetic, political – and a high-water mark in Brazilian culture 'A sacred music for many Brazilians' … bossa nova originators Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes giving a radio interview in Rio de Janeiro in 1967. Photograph: Globo/Globo via Getty Images Share on Messenger Close The Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso recalls a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1989. It was a benefit for the Brazilian rainforests, and he was appearing alongside an all-star cast including Sting, Elton John and the godfather of bossa nova, Tom Jobim. When Jobim played his most famous song, The Girl from Ipanema, Elton John had initially planned to appear on stage dragged up as Carmen Miranda , a bowl of fruit on his head. "We convinced him it wouldn't be a good idea," laughs Veloso. "Bossa nova is a sacred music for many Brazilians. It's political and nationalistic and poetic.

It's a form of high modernist art that somehow became one of the most popular musics on earth." Nowadays, it's a preset rhythm on a home organ; it's the music you hear in elevators, or on Strictly Come Dancing . But bossa nova's roots lie in the most fertile period of Brazilian culture, and this year is the centenary of one of its chief architects: the lyricist, linguist, poet and diplomat Vinicius de Moraes . It was his operatic musical, Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) , that started his writing relationship with Tom Jobim and invented the genre. "Bossa nova is a rare example of music that becomes popular by being more sophisticated," says Veloso. "Usually, as was the case with rock'n'roll, a music gains popularity by being reductive and primal, by stripping out the complexity. Bossa nova did the opposite. It took the samba and it added harmonic sophistication – extended chords and so on – and it added a degree of lyrical complexity." "This is a music that comes from a specific point in Brazilian cultural history," says musician and musicologist Arthur Nestrovski .

"It's a product of a brief period of democracy, between the early 1950s and the mid-60s, in between two spells of military dictatorship. The prime minister Juscelino Kubitschek was a social democrat who made great strides in industry, education, health and labour rights. We had a new capital city, Brasilia, designed by a radical young architect called Oscar Niemeyer. Our football team won the World Cup twice in a row! And we had the bossa nova, the highest flowering of Brazilian culture." Reading on mobile? Click here to watch Black Orpheus trailer Nestrovski, whose day job is artistic director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, will be exploring these themes at the Flipside festival of Brazilian literature this weekend. Alongside singers Paula Morelenbaum and José Miguel Wisnick, he'll be performing classic bossa nova tracks and explaining their background and history. "These are beautiful songs that millions of people around the world are familiar with," he says. "But the stories about these songs – the context from which bossa nova emerged – is just as interesting as the music." De Moraes' lyrics are central to the performance.

"Vinicius was an established poet long before he met up with Jobim," says Nestrovski. "He wrote some sonnets which are some of the most extraordinary pieces in the Portuguese language. And you can see that poet's hand behind his song lyrics. Take his most famous song, Garota de Ipanema , or Girl from Ipanema . It's about an older man looking at the younger woman, knowing that young love is beyond his reach. This is a theme of so much classic poetry, from Catullus to Shakespeare to Baudelaire . Sadly, that poetry was all but destroyed in the English lyric, which is terrible! For starters, the rhythm is all wrong. If you sing 'Tall and tan and young and lovely', everything is on the beat, like a military march. Vinicius's Portuguese lyric: 'Olha que coisa mais linda/ Mais cheia de graça … ' scans very differently. It's languid, swinging, irregular. The rhythm is displaced. It has an extraordinary mobility which mimics the movement of the girl passing by.

"And that's something you notice in all of Vinicius's lyrics – they're based on the way Brazilian Portuguese is spoken, which has a natural rhythmic syncopation. If you try and sing these songs with a big voice, they sound kitsch. They are not the kind of anthemic samba songs you get at a Brazilian carnival. The trick is to sing bossa nova as if you are speaking, like João Gilberto did . That way it sounds intimate, informal and conversational." Reading on mobile? Click here to watch video "Most Brazilians will be familiar with some of Vinicius's early poetry," says singer Monica Vasconcelos . " One of his sonnets features a couplet that translates as: 'Our love will not be immortal as it is a flame/ But it will be infinite when it is burning.' You often hear that read at weddings. But it's his song lyrics that are the essence of bossa nova. Gilberto said that bossa nova is not about tristeza, or sadness, instead it's about 'a touch of sadness'. Vinicius captures that perfectly. Take a song like Insensatez , better known in translation as How Insensitive . It captures a sweet sadness.

It's not the sadness you'll find in opera; instead it's a cool, gentle sadness. Likewise, a later song of his like Samba Da Volta is a beautifully poetic song about a lover returning. It almost takes pleasure from heartbreak." This represented a shift in Brazilian lyrics. Where samba songs usually refer to the public sphere – carnival, social conflict, politics – bossa nova focuses instead on the individual and the personal. "It was possibly the first popular music where the themes were existential," says Veloso. "It's part of what makes it high art. Third-world countries usually produce raw materials that are then transformed into capital by first world nations. This happens in industry, but it also happens in the arts. What was revolutionary about bossa nova is that a third-world country was creating high art on its own terms, and selling that art around the world. It remains a dream of what an ideal civilisation can create." Bossa nova music — Listen free at Last.fm lounge Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music popularized by Antônio Carlos Jobim , Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto .

Bossa nova (which is Portuguese for "new trend") acquired a large following, initially by young musicians and college students. Although the bossa nova movement only lasted six years (1957–63), it contributed a number of songs to the standard jazz repertoire. The musical style evolved from samba but is more complex harmonically and is less percussive. The influence on bossa nova… read more

Question: In which country did the bossa nova originate
Answer: Brazil